MacBook Won't Charge

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MacBook Won't Charge

I have a white MacBook that is having issues with charging. I bought this used and they said it would charge a battery but it won't. I've tried all the keyboard options for resetting PRAM adn other stuff, holding down power button. It lights ups the power adapter, but so faint you can barely see it. I work in a tech center as a tech so we had a MacBook and I tried its adapter and it did the same thing. I thought the battery was junk so I ordered a new one and it won't charge it either. If you have the machine powered on and remove the battery, it knows there is no battery so it is getting power back to the battery. I've ruled out chargers/batteries so it has to be magsafe or battery connetor, or logic board. As long as you leave it plugged in to an outlet it works fine, but as soon as you disconnect the adapter it is dead. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have it tore apart right now again and I have a volt meter if I need to check any read outs. This is a white macbook Build 9L31a.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Feb 15, 2011 8:38 AM

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Answer 1

a brody

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Feb 15, 2011 9:19 AM in response to yellowdemon

Welcome to Apple Discussions!

Does it have a PRAM battery? If that needs replacing, sometimes other system wide settings can go bad.

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Answer 2

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 15, 2011 12:02 PM in response to a brody

yes mine has the PRAM battery. Here are the schematics that I've been using because this Mac is the same as mine.

http://www.ifixit.com/Device/MacBookCoreDuo

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Answer 3

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 23, 2011 5:01 AM in response to yellowdemon

Well I went out and bought a new charger since mine was a 65w and the other one I was using was an 80w to test with. I bought a replacement charger. No luck, guess on to the magsafe unless someone has a better idea.

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Answer 4

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 23, 2011 5:04 AM in response to yellowdemon

This might be some beneficial news as well. If I let my macbook set for a few, when it should go to the dim screen, it does, but it flickers like crazy.

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Answer 5

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 25, 2011 5:28 AM in response to yellowdemon

This is one of the most "None Helping" forums I think I've ever joined. 😟

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Answer 6

a brody

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Feb 25, 2011 5:43 AM in response to yellowdemon

Unfortunately I've wanted to make responses, but the forum has been up and down the last few days. Try running the hardware test:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303081

If it doesn't help, and you have replaced the clock battery, it sounds like only an authorized service technician can tell what is wrong.

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Answer 7

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 25, 2011 8:01 AM in response to a brody

Thanks for your post. Unfortunately I don't have the discs. I have a set of discs out of our MacBook Pro 15" that are running version 10.5.5, but I'm running 10.5.8 and when I try to run it, it crashes.

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Answer 8

a brody

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Feb 25, 2011 12:25 PM in response to yellowdemon

Call AppleCare for the discs. You should keep them as they are the only way to get the hardware test to run, and save unnecessary wasted time in the repair shop.

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Answer 9

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 28, 2011 5:17 AM in response to a brody

Thanks, I guess I'm going to have to check in on that. Will they tell you if it is a bad logic board during the scans? I've purchased a new batter, new charger, and installed a new magsafe, to be in the same place where I started.

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Answer 10

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 28, 2011 5:18 AM in response to yellowdemon

And I haven't replaced the clock battery. It keeps all of my settings so I was thinking that the clock battery wouldn't have anything to do with it???

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Answer 11

a brody

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Feb 28, 2011 5:49 AM in response to yellowdemon

PRAM battery death is often a gradual thing, meaning the resulting issues that are caused by it may eliminate certain features one by one, or many at once.

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Answer 12

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 28, 2011 6:19 AM in response to a brody

Is there a way to test this PRAM battery? I have a voltmeter. Also I'm having issues locating the AHT discs on Apples site. May have to just call them. The disc I need is AHT 3A143. Or is there a place to download it and burn it?

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Answer 13

a brody

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Feb 28, 2011 6:41 AM in response to yellowdemon

The test CDs are available by phone only if they are lost. If you are in Arkansas, call 1-800-APLCARE. Otherwise contact the original seller of the machine if it wasn't an Apple authorized seller and ask them to call the number. They are not their's to keep.

Most PRAM batteries you would just use a voltmeter. Unless it has changed, they are all 3.6V. You should be able to locate the positive and negative ends of the battery, and writing on the battery if you hold a light and magnifying glass to it, to determine the voltage and where to put the voltmeter.

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Answer 14

yellowdemon Author

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Feb 28, 2011 6:48 AM in response to a brody

I read online that if your PRAM battery is below 3.0 V you should replace it. I finally got mine out, and the readout is 2.97 V, but would this be enough to actually prevent the system from charging the main battery?

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Answer 15

a brody

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Feb 28, 2011 6:50 AM in response to yellowdemon

Yes. It is after all 1/6th less than normal. These are very sensitive pieces of equipment.

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